At present, you will find that franchising is growing rapidly all over the world as they offer more benefits over self-owned businesses. One of the best things about franchising is that it offers proven solutions for all the uncertainties which are faced by the people who are running the business.

If you are planning to invest money to open your own business then make sure that you buy a franchise store, as they have proven very successful. Currently, you can see that there are more than 665 different businesses which operate as franchises in the UK. Franchising also offer various benefits to the franchisors, as they help the companies to grow and sell their products or services all across the country.

Details about franchising

Once you pay the fees to the owner of the business (franchisor) you can then sell various products under the franchisor’s name. In return for the fees, the franchisor will help you with training, advertising, marketing and other information which will help you to run the business smoothly. All the franchises in the UK are members of the British Franchisor Association (BFA).

After buying a franchise store, you only have to work with a tried and tested business plan under the established trade name. You will also receive market reports and other strategy plans from the franchisor. As a franchisee, you can also enjoy the bulk buying power of the franchisor.

For a successful business, the franchisees and franchisor need to work together and use their experience, knowledge and skills.

Listing over 1,400 franchisors and almost 200 Irish franchisors, this awarding winning directory is an absolute must read for anybody considering franchising.

Now in its 23rd edition, The UK Franchise Directory is a valuable guide to the franchise industry providing over 70 pages of comprehensive advice and guidance from bfa-affiliated consultants, lawyers and industry professionals. Whether you are new to franchising or not, The UK Franchise Directory is designed to educate and help you find franchise opportunities. It is also invaluable to those considering expanding their business through franchising.

Richard Chatten, Editor comments, “Franchising encompasses a broad range of industries and business types and with so much choice and information available it can be quite daunting to know where to start. The information provided in this directory can be used to help direct you to the best franchise opportunity that meets your qualifications and personal goals.”

Famous brands are featured in this latest edition which includes McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, CeX, ChipsAway, Orange and Rohan.

This publication is available for £25 (UK residents) and can be ordered today by clicking here.

Razzamataz, the theatre school, has announced its Franchisee of the Year for 2009. In this ceremony, the principal for the Yeovil, Street and Taunton schools, Catherine Hayden, was given the award in Birmingham.

Denise Hutton-Gosney, Razzamataz director and judge, said that Catherine has given amazing performance and dedication to Razzamataz. Apart from being the franchisee, she also has commitments with the Navy and brings up three young children.

Denise also said that Hayden had no prior training in performing arts but she has launched a successful school in only two years.

The award ceremony for Razzamataz Franchisee of the Year was held to highlight several schools and principals who have made an amazing commitment to the brand. The judges of these awards recognised those who worked hard and excelled in many years of the theatre business.

Catherine Hayden said that she is very honoured to receive the award and she has worked hard to build up the business. She also had great support from head office, her staff and family. She wants to develop and grow the Razzamataz brand further.

Razzamataz Theatre Schools gained popularity when the founder, Denise Hutton-Gosney, appeared on Dragon’s Den in January. At present, they have more than 40 schools throughout the UK.

National franchisor Ovenclean is ‘sizzling hot’ this year, with new customer enquiries up 20% year to date, on last year’s figures.

Ovenclean Chief Executive Julian Minwalla comments, “Ovenclean has been bucking the trend during this recession, with franchise owners reporting higher than ever demand for their services. As awareness of professional oven cleaning grows, customers are increasingly viewing the Ovenclean service as a small luxury they simply can’t do without.”

Ovenclean franchise owners enjoy a massive potential marketplace. Every household has an oven, every oven has to be cleaned regularly and research shows that virtually everyone hates cleaning their oven. Add to that increasingly busy lives, where both partners usually work and free time is precious, together with an ageing population in need of support to cope with physically demanding chores and the result is a rapidly growing demand for a professional oven cleaning service.

This demand, together with the advantage of low overheads, low operating costs and the flexibility to dictate working hours, has also led to an upsurge in interest in the Ovenclean franchise; accordingly, applications from new franchise owners are up substantially this year.

Julian Minwalla continues, “The beauty of the Ovenclean business model is its simplicity – it is easy to learn, straightforward to manage, and once customers have experienced the astonishing results of a professional oven clean, they never look back, using the service regularly and usually recommending it to their friends – a ‘win-win’ situation for any new business!”

He adds: “For some people this relatively stress-free existence is ideal, however for others a good living and the satisfaction that comes from providing an excellent service is just the beginning. Although happy to start off being hands-on, some look to build a management franchise, with a fleet of vehicles and a team of well trained staff. The domestic oven cleaning marketplace lends itself well to such ambitious people and the Ovenclean network includes a number of multi-vehicle operations.”

Ovenclean is the longest established and most successful domestic and commercial oven cleaning franchise in the UK, providing specialist oven cleaning services to a large, virtually untapped marketplace, including hotels, schools and lettings agencies.

Franchise owners operate from professionally liveried vans and so benefit from low overheads and high flexibility. The top quality, powerful yet eco-friendly Ovenclean product range, exclusive to franchise owners, effectively cleans ovens and hobs, Agas, ranges and barbecues, restoring them to pristine condition within a matter of a few hours.

The proven business model is easy to learn, simple to manage and delivers a high earning, flexible lifestyle, with the potential to expand into a multi-van operation.

London based Pal4Pets is all set to expand its franchise network in the UK and Ireland. The company, which was started 12 years ago in North London, is now extremely successful.

The company offers several types of services for cats, dogs and other domestic pets including birds.

At present, Pal4 Pets have 6 franchise territories in operation. Three franchises out of 6 offer services in North London, and the others cover Mid & West Sussex, Bristol & North Somerset and South West Midlands & Worcester.

Monica Loosely, founder and Managing Director of Pal4Pets, said that they have developed a perfect business model over the years and now they want some expansion. This is why they believe it is the right time to open new franchises.

Data from the National Office of Statistics showed that last year, people in the UK spent more than £4.5 billion on their pets, with the figure set to rise in 2010.

Paul Milner, who opened a Pals4Pets branch at the South West Midlands & Worcestershire region, said that the company runs on the basis of family values. He also said that a Pal4Pets franchise is a great opportunity for anyone who loves animals.

Pal4Pets are now planning to open franchises in Bedford/Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Cardiff/Newport, Coventry, Crewe/Stoke on Trent and Glasgow.

The UK’s most popular kitchen facelift franchise, Dream Doors, has implemented three major tactics in order to help its 30 franchisees to grow in their business. This spring, the company is all set to launch its new high-end kitchen door range at a cost that provides its customers with amazing quality products.

The new nationwide marketing initiative has already begun, with advertisements in the Daily Mail and The Times. By forming close contacts with Checkatrade – a nationwide customer feedback scheme – Dream Doors is narrowing its customer programme to ensure complete buyer satisfaction.

Troy Tappenden, founder and Managing Director of Dream Doors, said that he has spent the past decade building Dream Doors from a small local business to a franchise that has 30 showrooms across the country. He also said that they are the market leaders in their sector, and have now won plenty of awards in the industry. However, he is not satisfied with this and feels that they can easily take their business to new heights.

Recently, at the annual conference of Dream Doors held in Portsmouth, the company greeted over 60 delegates along with 5 new franchise owners to declare 3 New Years’ resolutions. The 1st to present was the biggest supplier of Dream Doors- introducing the latest door range that will allow franchises to retail high-end products at middle-market prices.

Kelly Chambers, Dream Doors Operations Director, said that this type of door was traditionally reserved for purchasers with £30,000 or more. However, they are now available to customers of Dream Doors for as little as £4,000, which is fantastic news.

Dream Doors really are going from strength to strength.

Will Williams is a new franchisee for CityLocal Plymouth, and he was searching for a suitable franchise opportunity when he came across CityLocal.

Will says that CityLocal is an interesting franchise network and he believes that this will make some difference in the lives of local people. He also believes that local companies will soon see that CityLocal Plymouth has many things to offer and that they will sign up for their services.

Before this, Will was previously working with H.M Forces and served for 22 years. He had several different roles including transport, physical training instructor and stores manager.

Once his time with H.M Forces ended, he decided to go back to college and train as a self employed plumber. The training specialised in bathroom installations.

Will explained that he liked CityLocal franchises because he could easily work from home and it is good business through which he can support his family easily. He added that he is excited about the challenges ahead.

At present, CityLocal is one of the premier websites for local people in the UK and Ireland, and it offers sophisticated and dynamic business promotion for companies.

Pals4Pets, one of the leading pet care companies in London, has launched a new subscription scheme known as Pals4Pets Alert. This scheme will assist pet owners if they face a medical emergency.
It will give pet owners peace of mind when they have to leave their pets if they go into hospital, as arrangements will be made for someone to look after the animal.

Pals4Pets Alert is a scheme which is designed for those who live alone and also those who have partners and families. Basically, this scheme is for all pet owners who want their pets to be taken care of in traumatic situations.

Subscribers will be given a freephone telephone number which will be accessible for 24 hours and 7 days a week. One of the best things about this scheme is that within three hours of the call, a Pals4Pets sitter will visit and help pets. The following day, the option to opt for additional services for pets will be offered.

This scheme is designed in a way which makes it perfect for unplanned medical emergencies. Subscription to this scheme would make a great present for friends or relatives.

Franchising is gaining popularity over self-owned businesses these days, as it eliminates the risk and uncertainty which is present in many new businesses. If you have money to invest, then buying a franchise is a great idea. One of the best things about franchising is that you get a tested model which helps you to have a successful business.

Before buying a franchise, you need to consider several important factors.

Evaluate your skills and needs – This is an important factor to consider, as franchising offers a great opportunity to run your own business. So, before investing, you need to select a business sector which is familiar to you.

Buy a franchise from a reputable franchisor – Before investing, you need to make sure that the franchisor is registered with the British Franchise Association (BFA). You also need to make sure that the franchisor is successful.

Conduct some research – Before buying a franchise, you need to conduct some research about the background of your franchisor. You need to make sure that they are capable of fulfilling your business aspirations.

Generally, a franchisor should offer advertising, marketing strategies, training and other vital support to franchisees, in order for the business to run smoothly.

When it comes to starting a new business, entrepreneurs are always faced with a lot of difficulties and decisions. From the business idea to choosing staff, everything that will help run the business needs to be carefully thought out. The entire process can be disappointing, tough and sometimes even unsuccessful. However, this doesn’t have to be the case if you buy a franchise rather than start a new business.

Buying a franchise is a lot like starting your own business, but with less complications and troubles. Besides this, franchises have higher success rates compared to new businesses. Here are some of the main reasons that franchises are popular today.

Less costly- Starting a brand new business can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. On the other hand, you can find reputable franchises for much lower prices. When you buy this kind of a business, all costs are accurate and fair and you don’t have to worry about unnecessary expenses.

Easy to get loans- Getting loans for newly established businesses from banks or other lenders is harder than getting them for franchises. This is because franchises have fewer risks and more success rates so lenders are more confident that loans will be repaid.

An established brand name- It is very easy to sell products and services from franchises that have established and reputable brand names.

In addition to all this, most franchising companies offer a proven business model, training and other support to new franchisees.